


A Chance Encounter

by FlyingShoes135



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-03-15 04:51:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13605909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingShoes135/pseuds/FlyingShoes135
Summary: Will Solace works at a carnival as a junior medic. He falls head over heels for his coworker, Nico di Angelo. Only problem is that his newfound friend, who works at the Haunted House attraction, seems to be invisible to everyone but Will.





	1. First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction in a while, so please forgive me if it sucks, last time I was active was 2011. I've never been the biggest fan of Solangelo, but I do ship it and was haunted by this idea, pun unintended.

Will raced through the carnival, dodging through the crowd of pedestrians and hoping to any spirit in the universe that karma was real and would favor him.

He yelled desperate apologies as he weaved through the crowd, running and twisting his torso between sweaty bodies and hot pretzels. I cannot be late for work on my first day, Will thought. I can't afford to get fired!

"Whoa! Watch out, kid! Nobody's chasing you," a man called out as Will narrowly avoided crashing into his, thankfully empty, baby stroller.

"Sorry!" Will shouted. The moment of distraction was enough for Will to trip on his shoelace that, in his haste, he hadn't bothered to tie. Will landed right on his ass by a sign advertising the Haunted House attraction.

He groaned and gazed upwards, where the sun had suddenly been blocked. His jaw went slack when he saw what was blocking the light, as it was definitely not his floppy hair.

A boy around his age stood above him. He opened his mouth to ask, "Are you alright?"

Will noticed a slight Italian accent that caused butterflies to flutter in his stomach. The good kind of butterflies that appear in moments like unwrapping a present or right before a first kiss... Not that Will would know, probably being the only senior in high school who has graduated without kissing anyone at least once. In his defense, there weren't many gay people in his class, and Will had never exactly come out of the closet, despite living in Austin, a pretty LGBTQ friendly city, let alone in Texas.

The boy stared at him expectantly with colorless eyes like broken glass. Will realized that he had never responded to his question.  
"Um, yeah, I'm fine! Sorry."

The corners of the boy's mouth tugged upwards ever so slightly as he asked, "You can see me? Why are you apologizing? There's nothing to be sorry for."

"Sorry, old habits... What do you mean, 'You can see me?' Of course I can see you!"

"Uh..."

"Are you part of the Haunted House attraction? You make a hot- I mean, a great ghost," Will asked, cursing himself for nearly calling a total stranger 'hot,' no matter how true it was.

"Er... One could say that," the boy replied.

"Oh, cool, we'd be coworkers!" Will stuck his hand out. "I'm Will Solace, junior medical assistant here."

The boy awkwardly shook his hand, "Um, I am Nico di Angelo." He mussed up his (already messy) dark hair. "And you're about to be late."

"Crap- it's my first day, too... Gotta go. I'll, uh, I'll see you around, right?"

"I hope so. I'd be obliged if you did not tell anyone you saw me, though," he said as Will was beginning to walk away.

The boy, Nico, spoke so formally for his age. It took Will a moment to respond, "Oh, duh, 'cause ghosts aren't supposed to be seen in broad daylight, right?"

When Will turned around, Nico wasn't there anymore. All that was left of him was a pale face quickly retreating into the darkness, with a finger over his lips as if warning him to stay quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, so sorry, I know it's kind of short and bad right now, I haven't written fanfiction since 2011. This is only the first chapter, so it should get better.  
> I don't know how often I can update, seeing as I'm a busy high schooler and whatnot. Also, I'm most active in the PJO/HOO, Miraculous Ladybug, and Voltron fandoms right now. So, yeah. Working on a college AU for ML right now. Got a pretty good idea.  
> Anyone else have a Therapist!Jason image in their minds? Tbh, not a big fan of Jason, but this might be redeeming him for me.


	2. The Waves

Nico wasn’t quite sure what had caused him to ask WIll if he was alright. Nobody had ever seen him before, and he had given up on speaking to people who would just brush past him- or worse, through him. But something caused him to just instinctively look up at Will. Maybe it was his bright, golden hair, or his energetic presence. Nico didn’t think it was that, but he wasn’t going to account it to something as silly as fate.

Nico peeked down from the branch he was sitting in. Will was at the picnic bench below him, reading a book.

“What are you reading?” Nico asked timidly, remaining hidden within the shadows of a large oak tree.

“The Waves,” Will replied. “By Virginia Woolf. It’s my assigned summer reading. Actually, there’s this one line that reminds me of you:

‘Pale, with dark hair, the one who is coming is melancholy, romantic. And I am arch and fluent and capricious; for he is melancholy, he is romantic. He is here.’”

Nico was suddenly glad at the several feet of distance between them. That meant Will couldn’t have seen the sudden flush of red across his cheeks.

It’s been two days since they first saw each other, and like an overeager puppy, Will insists on visiting Nico, despite the latter never emerging far from the shadows.

Nico doesn’t understand how Will still remains ignorant to Nico’s condition. It is clear to anyone who can actually see, that Nico is a ghost. A real, not living, ghost, rather than a mere carnival attraction. Hasn’t he noticed that the strange looks he receives while talking to Nico? And that none of the other coworkers know Nico by name?

Ultimately, though, Will does not need Nico. Nico needs Will. And it isn’t just in the way he wishes he did, where sudden images of holding hands at the top of a ferris wheel flash through his mind.. Rather, in order to move on to the afterlife, ghosts must be needed. Have someone who depends on them, or do something heroic to save someone. Essentially, it requires some form of life. Where Nico’s life was taken, he must save someone else’s instead. And saving someone’s life isn’t easy. There aren’t many people Nico can find who are about to die, or with huge emotional holes.

Nico bitterly thought back to the last person who had been able to see him and his sister. The stupid ocean eyed devil who stole his sister away. He couldn’t summon any actual feelings of resentment, though. Eighty years was a long time to be stuck with one person for company. He knew his sister was becoming restless.

And then a dark haired boy with sea-green eyes waltzed into their lives. 

“Hi,” he had said. “I’m Percy Jackson. I’ve seen you around here before.”

He was not at all charming. He was dorky and stupid, but he somehow attracted people like flies to honey. And Nico had not been any different.

He was the first person to see them and approach them.

He was also the reason Nico thought he would spend the rest of eternity alone. But now, Nico realized that maybe it wouldn’t have to be so. He might finally be able to rejoin his sister.

For some reason, Nico felt a tug of hesitation. He wouldn’t listen to it, though. He wouldn’t trade his sister for anything. Not even a pretty boy with a smile like the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, sorry it's been so long since the last chapter. School is busy, and all I can offer you is this tiny little chapter, with hardly an importance but to advance the plot.


End file.
